


105. forward

by fall_into_life



Series: Beacon University [25]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Multi, Polyamory, Racism Discussion, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 13:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16327010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fall_into_life/pseuds/fall_into_life
Summary: There are rivers of blood between the names Belladonna and Schnee, but instead of looking backwards, Blake chooses to move forward. Follows on directly from 104 heavy.





	105. forward

Blake wakes up in a room that isn't hers, with two other bodies in the bed with her. It's not a first. She's not had sex with them both. That _is_ a first.

It isn't as though Blake would object. Weiss is, as noted, very pretty, and Blake has suspicions about her sexual tastes. She's gently pushed away her attraction, because Weiss is very high-strung, and more attached to Ruby than Blake suspects either of them realize. Having sex with Weiss could never just _be_ having sex with Weiss. So Blake keeps her appreciation to herself, and simply enjoys having another attractive woman in her life.

When she wakes up in a bed with Ruby and Weiss, it's because they've all had just enough to drink that putting Weiss in Pyrrha's spare room, or on Ruby and Yang's couch, never comes to mind. She's Ruby's, and they're all friendly enough to share a bed. It isn't an issue.

That morning isn't, either. Blake's body informs her - rather politely, considering how much eggnog she had the night before - that she would be smart to take it easy that day, and that so long as she does, she won't have any problems. She crawls out of her side of the bed - Ruby's in the middle, of course - and stumbles into the shower.

By the time she gets out, wrapped in a robe and feeling a lot clearer-headed, Yang has started breakfast, and is humming way too cheerfully in the kitchen.

"I seem to remember you starting a drinking contest," Blake comments, sitting down and taking a cup of coffee from Yang with murmured thanks. "Despite our best efforts."

"Yup," Yang says, flipping chocolate-chip pancakes. "I feel pretty good though!"

"Small miracles," Blake comments dryly, taking a sip of her drink.

"Speaking of small miracles," Yang says, looking slyly at Blake from behind a curtain of hair, "you got Pyrrha kisses and nobody exploded."

Blake snorts, not bothering to comment. Yes, she got Pyrrha kisses the night before. Ruby laughed, Winter smiled, Yang cat-called, and Weiss looked like she didn't know if she should be scandalized or not. Ren and Nora, two of Pyrrha's friends from her gen-ed classes, had been too used to it to look up from the television.

"Speaking of kisses," Yang says, turning back to the food, "should I be having the scary big sister talk with Weiss?"

Blake looks up towards the ceiling, thinking that over. Shovel talks are for people you don't know, don't trust, can't imagine the best of. She doesn't think that's true here.

"Not unless you want Winter doing it to Ruby."

Yang shudders in mock-horror. "Ugh. Nobody deserves that."

"Excuse me," Weiss says, padding into the kitchen, "what does nobody deserve Winter doing?"

She homes in on the coffee like a bloodhound, Yang handing her another cup while she and Blake exchange a glance.

"A shovel talk," Blake says, deciding it's best to have this out in the open.

Weiss frowns down into her coffee cup, adding more sugar than Blake would have expected. "What is a shovel talk?"

"Y'know," Yang says, following Blake's lead, "if you hurt my sister, I've got a shovel and a lot of empty land...?"

Weiss snorts, and it's so unexpected that Blake and Yang both stare at her. Even her most relaxed so far has been slightly stiff at best. She takes a seat at the kitchen table, and Yang and Blake quickly pretend they weren't staring.

Halfway through her cup of coffee, Weiss looks to Yang, suspicious. "Please don't tell me you're going to try being intimidating."

"Hey now," Yang says, adding another pancake to the stack, "I can be very intimidating. I've got a lotta muscles and more rank belts than some people have regular belts."

"And you love Ruby more than you distrust me," Weiss says, thoughtless. 

This time, neither Yang nor Blake try to pretend they're not staring.

Weiss' mouth opens, closes, then opens and closes again. She looks like she'd like to apologize, only she's not sure she's done anything wrong, and isn't sure where to start besides.

"Ugh, what time is it," Ruby slouches into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Everyone very quickly busies themselves with either their coffee or cooking.

"'Bout ten, Rubes," Yang says cheerily, plating some pancakes and shoving them into Ruby's hands. She's terrible at lying to people she loves, but Ruby is hungover and easily distracted, sitting at the table without seeming to notice a thing.

Ruby grumbles something that might be a thanks, and digs in.

They all eat under Yang's watchful eye, even when Weiss tries to beg off, and Yang skips out of the house with some transparent excuse no one believes. They all know there's only two places she could be going.

Ruby claims the shower next, leaving Weiss and Blake in the living room.

It's not the first time they've been alone, but since Blake's easy half-drunk affection last night, and whatever that had been in the kitchen before breakfast, the air between them feels weighted. Blake takes a deep breath, stretches her arm across the back of the couch, and looks from Weiss to the space next to her in clear invitation.

Weiss moves closer. She leans into Blake, first hesitantly, then with a sigh that banishes the tension. Blake's arm goes around her shoulders, and both their eyes close.

Blake met Winter first, of the Schnee sisters. She met Winter Schnee, Blades instructor, a woman made of sharp angles and the highest standards. Blake had been ready to drop the class, to walk away from a woman with _that name_ and _that reputation_ , but Winter looked her in the eyes without once looking to her ears, and spoke to Blake Belladonna exactly the way she did to Jaune Arc, who was white and human and male and came from a good family.

(Well. No one speaks quite the same way to Jaune that they do to anyone else, but Winter treated them the same.)

She learned more in that semester than she had in two years of private instruction, and had signed up for the next level as soon as registration opened. She'd looked at Winter Schnee, and decided that the name wasn't the woman. She'd made the choice to move forward, to drop her preconceptions.

When Blake found out that yes, Ruby really was working with _that_ Weiss, she'd had her share of doubt. Winter Schnee was a highly competent, hardworking woman who had proven herself over and over not to be a bigot. What were the chances that two people from the same family that exploited fanus - from the same _generation_ of that family - would be open-minded? Blake knew from her initial flurry of research on Winter that neither sister was much for the spotlight, for making statements about the company or its policies, but Blake didn't hold out much hope. She knew perfectly well Weiss was an engineering major, and that her designs had already been published and praised for their innovation. She was perfectly poised to take over the weapons development section of Schnee Defense Company, if not the entire company. But Ruby liked her, and Blake chose to trust in that, at least.

When they met, Blake expected... something. Some measure of... she didn't know, recognition, or prejudice. Something. The Belladonnas had been vocal about their disgust for SDC business practices for a long time, and Blake certainly knew exactly who Weiss was long before she came to Beacon. Maybe Weiss wouldn't know who _Blake_ was, not because of that, but Blake still expected something that would prove she had been right to hold all Schnees in contempt.

Instead, she got a girl who was very particular about her timetables, and would Ruby _please_ grab her coat or they were going to be late, yes hello Blake nice to meet you, _Ruby please_. Not once had she looked at Blake's ears, at the gold of her eyes - so rare in humans as to be nearly nonexistent - or commented on her last name.

After the movie, she'd gotten what felt like just... Weiss. Or rather, like a shared Schnee trait that wasn't warmongering or bigotry, because Winter too, enjoyed debate. Weiss had passion where Winter had detachment, but Blake by that point had spent enough time in Winter's classes to see the similarities. Not once, her name. Not once, her ears. Not once.

And at the end of that night, with Ruby curled in her arms, Blake decided again: she would take Weiss on her own terms, not her family's. Today, like every day since then, Blake decides to move forward.

Ruby emerges, in her laying around clothes and with a line between her eyes that speaks of more alcohol than she should have had. She slumps onto the couch, sticking her head in Weiss' lap.

Weiss fingers curl into her hair, gentle. Those hands have penned weapons of war. Those hands have held weapons, tested them, adjusted them. The blood in her veins has caused blood to run in the streets. And yet, she is so gentle with Ruby, so respectful with Blake. She is not her family's history, and Blake will not ever think it of her again.

Blake leans her head against Weiss', and lets herself drowse.

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly reminder that if you're interested in updates on this series, it's much better to subscribe to the Beacon University series than the prompt one. The prompt series will be closed as soon as it's done and may include non-Beacon U pieces, whereas Beacon University will only have Beacon U pieces, and will also alert you as to any non-prompt pieces I post.


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